Thank you for visiting #ksedchat. We welcome all educators to our chat that runs Mondays at 8 p.m. Central. Though many of our educators have their homes in Kansas, all teachers are welcome to pop in and join in on the learning.
Let's see who is joining #ksedchat tonight!
Introduce yourself.
Tell us what your role at school.
What was an awesome thing you did this summer to recharge?
Tim Vesco
4th grade teacher in Frontenac.
I'm tweeting from Hawaii while on vacation with my family. This is the perfect place to recharge your batteries! #ksedchat
Let's see who is joining #ksedchat tonight!
Introduce yourself.
Tell us what your role at school.
What was an awesome thing you did this summer to recharge?
Let's see who is joining #ksedchat tonight!
Introduce yourself.
Tell us what your role at school.
What was an awesome thing you did this summer to recharge?
Let's see who is joining #ksedchat tonight!
Introduce yourself.
Tell us what your role at school.
What was an awesome thing you did this summer to recharge?
Hi #ksedchat! I'm crashing this week! :) Kara, formerly of KS, but now teaching in NYC. My summer has been a lot of Netflix and workshops and not nearly enough beach time.
Will Dunn. Tonganoxie HS teacher; Math. #ksedchat
I work pretty close to full time during the summer, but my family never misses our annual trip to my hometown on Lake Michigan. Family, friends, bonfires, and lake life.
Brian McDavitt. I’m an instructional technology specialist and am not from Kansas, but I’m just across the state line in KCMO. This summer I took a road trip to the baseball, football, and rock and roll halls of fame. #ksedchat
Hi all! TJ Warsnak, social studies teacher from Halstead High School. Recharged by spending a week up in Breckenridge CO & getting a ton of new ideas from teachers around the state. #ksedchat
Hey #ksedchat! Kebra, 5th grade, Yates Center, KS. Lots of exciting things this summer but lately I have been thankful for naps because this third trimester has made me SUPER sleepy.
Hello #ksedchat! Monica from KCK #turner202strong I’m switching roles this year and teaching 6th grade technology. Sleeping was my way of recharging this summer.
1st Grade Teacher, Frontenac. Recharged by visiting the @ronclarkacademy with @mrvesco! Eager to bring the magic back to our colleagues and Ss at FLE! #ksedchat
Oops. Definitely forgot the #ksedchat tag in my last tweet. So again, I’m Nicole, 7/8 ELA at Gardner-Edgerton! Netflix has been my whole life this summer. #noshame
A1: New principal and two new teachers on the elementary wing. We also got new reading and science curriculum, it is a year of lots of new things! #ksedchat
We have a lot of new changes! Our new principal is Dr. Julie Samuels and we have lots of new teachers! We are in the first year of KS school redesign and I can’t wait! #KSEDCHAT
A1. As the new career counselor, this is a new to district position. We’re focusing on having Ss ready post-secondary through real world experience, hands on, and focusing on soft skills. We’re building up our community engagement as well #ksedchat
A1 We have some new team members! I’m a building mentor for one of them (yay!), and I’m so excited to see what this year brings with so many new insights! I’m not the newbie anymore. 😅 #ksedchat
A1: Like a lot of schools we are going through the redesign process which will be an exciting opportunity. Also, looking forward to more dialogue with a great group of teachers in our building. #ksedchat
A1: 2 Things... we have adopted the 8 keys of excellence and I'm so excited to have building wide common language. District wise; we are FINALLY getting a new math curriculum!
#ksedchat
We have interim principals (yep, co-principals), and I'm excited for the work they will do in supporting both Ts and Ss this year. They're awesome! I'm also teaching a new Materials Science class, so that's going to be a lot of fun. #ksedchat
A1 for me, it is a new (old) grade level, going back to 6th. First time semi-looping (though it won't be a true loop, we shared kids and will this year, so I will teach them all). #ksedchat
A1: STREAM time. Once a week for an hour community partners are coming into teach 5 week electives to our kids specific to various interests and careers #ksedchat
I’m the @KSDEredesign pilot teacher in my Gemini II building! I’m so excited for the opportunity or innovation and growth, 🙌🏼😍🤓 but nervous about being out of my classroom so much! I hate sub plans! 😭#ksedchat
A1 We have a clear vision- empowered to dream, believe and achieve. We have opened an opportunity school to help Ss learn to win at the game of life. Game on at "The Nest" #ksedchat#WPSProud#OneNest
I’d love to stay in touch with you on your journey! #ksedchat Also would love to hear from anyone else that has been or is currently going though this.
A1: We are kicking off our first full year of KSRedesign as a Mercury school. Plus we have some new staff that are already psyched and ready for an awesome year. #ksedchat
#ksedchat#intro
I’m Rachel! I’m a 5th grade teacher at Rawlins County Elementary.... and it’s my first year!
I’ve “recharged” the past few weeks by moving across this state (from the furthest county in SEK to the very NW corner), and spending some quality time with my kiddo
#ksedchat A1: I’m just excited to join the school! I believe we are undergoing some curriculum changes, so it’ll be good to get firsthand experience in that!
Travelers is about time travel and The 100 is about prisoners (100 kids 17 and under) being sent to Earth 97 years after a nuclear war to see if it’s habitable. So interesting! #ksedchat
A2: Being excited and starting to build strong relationships from the get go! No exact plans yet, but I know it will be a day to just be with them and enjoy them! #ksedchat
a2 I've already established communication with most of my families before Day 1. Almost half came to a meeting where I explain what needs to change for college readiness. Ss know I care and will be there to support. #ksedchat
A2: I'm going with the 10th graders on a 3-day trip. The first day of formal classes, I dig in by teaching procedures through content. We blow up a coffee can right away in 9th grade chemistry. I never have to answer "when are we going to blow something up" - haha! #ksedchat
A2. Our principal has a lot of cool activities to get our Ss and staff hyped up with being engaged through athletic type intros. I plan to be visible in halls/lunch/before school to meet & greet Ss & start building rapport w/lots of energy #ksedchat
#ksedchat A2: We'll be playing card games (War, Blackjack, etc) to take data, then using Google sheets to display the data. Then talk about data manipulation.
A2. I don’t know how special this is, but I just want to see how they are doing, check in, let them know I missed them and am glad they are back. #ksedchat
A2: I will be greeting Ss at the door w/high fives and smiles! I am working with Ts to develop student-centered lesson plans for the first days of school = responsive classroom, #tlap, LOTS of fun!! #ksedchat
A2: I cannot wait to share with my students The Power of Yet by @CJLuckeyDope. Really excited to create a Growth Mindset culture in my class this year! #ksedchat
A2: enthusiasm and excitement. It’ll be my first day meeting a lot of the kids, being at a new school. I want to make a great first impression. Lots of interaction! #ksedchat
Not sure yet, but I’d love to find a way to bring the excitement I see across the street over to the HS the first day. The first couple hours are so crucial! #ksedchat
A2 Our 1st day is a half day, so our classes will be about 15 minutes long. Not much I can do in that time, but I’m putting the focus on the Ss instead of me talking. They’ll get to share about themselves on index cards so no pressure speaking in front of their peers. #ksedchat
A2 we are hosting the #WarriorWay Day! Going to be epic! Can’t wait to see what it becomes! Taking a cannonball leap here! First time in a Twitter chat! @TaraMartinEDU#ksedchat No backpacks, no supplies, no problem! Just building culture!
A2-We read First Day Jitters and then we have Jitter Juice for them. I’m thinking of breaking out the iPads and doing an @Seesaw scavenger hunt tour of the room. Plus, morning tubs. #ksedchat
#ksedchat A2: I’m doing a character building activity to help me learn more about the kids. I’m going to talk about the importance of words, and explain how powerful a word can be. Then the kids will pick a word they want to focus on for the year... and then set goals with that.
A2 We begin with Welcome Week where we build community and orient our Ss to the mission of our school. We have house inductions, team building, competitions and end with 2night, 3day retreat. It’s wonderful to watch the growth! #ksedchat
A2: Making sure everyone gets involved in some way & Looking mystery documents to see what story students think they tell. Hopefully making Ss feel they will be successful. #ksedchat
You graduated from Pitt State right? I thought I had seen last year that you were a fellow Gorilla. You’ll have to keep us updated on your first year! #ksedchat
A2: First, I need to get my classroom ready ha ha. First day usually focuses on team building and structuring and fostering a classroom community. First impressions are everything #ksedchat
A2: On the first day I like to spend time getting to know each other. We do this through lots of team building activities, STEM challenges, and get to know you games. I spend the bare minimum on rules and routines. I want them to be excited to come back! #ksedchat
A1-Not sure about building changes, but a 3rd grade teacher and I are going to be math buds. One of our projects will be Math trails, but I haven’t told her that part yet 😊. #ksedchat
#ksedchat A1) Things happening in my district that I’m excited about.... We are doing Mysrery Science this year and I have heard so many people talk about being excited to teach science for maybe the very first time! It’s well put together and even has writing prompts! ❤️
A2: I get the privilege of being with the kiddos for 3 years, I can’t wait to see my kiddos after a long summer. I plan on inviting my seminar kiddos to be part of Boone’s Bunch with real paper invites #ksedchat
I live in holy fear that my HS students will secretly video one of my math tunes with their cell phone. I don't mind looking & sounding silly for them but... #ksedchat
That's so cool, ICC was close to where my HS was and we saw some of my husband's old football players in the stands in an episode. Surprisingly, I really liked it and it was really interesting to follow their journey. #ksedchat
A3: Make sure to plan lessons that include things you are passionate about and your students are passionate about. Most importantly, find an amazing #piratecrew for support! #ksedchat
A3: don’t let the energy and enthusiasm change. If we expect kids to be excited everyday... We should be too! Some days it’s easier than others. #ksedchat
A3: By always being fresh, not being afraid to try new ideas throughout the year and not wait till the following year to implement. Create relationships with your students to help foster your classroom community. #ksedchat
A3. I think building a sense of community, family, rapport with Ss is key. If we remember names, connect, etc then the fire is constantly there & were there to help grow the flame when it starts to die. We have to have that positive culture & high octane energy #ksedchat
A2) I am not sure yet what we do that is special! I can’t wait to see them all and greet them and tell them how glad I am that they are part of our class family! Usually we make “back to school” headbands. This year I want to do something about how K was so last year. #ksedchat
#ksedchat A3: keep doing new things! Keep feeling and showing excitement about the lessons! Be genuinely interested in your kids! Don't use all the tricks you learned day 1 and then day 2 go to drudgery.
A3: I love the idea of kicking off each week with a bang! Instead of celebrating at the end of the week I want kids to be excited to come on Monday. A new #STEM challenge? A mystery box sitting in the room? A new game to play? #ksedchat
A3: Use as much variety as possible! Different style projects, use different parts of the school, different styles of presentations, new tech platforms, & different audiences. #ksedchat
A3: time to play, explore, feel challenged, learn by doing, practice patience & kindness, dabble & find passions, become the Ss leaders they can be! #ksedchat
A3- I think by genuinely committing ourselves to celebrating growth in our kids performing at all levels, and on consistently acknowledging all of the great things teachers and staff are doing. We sometimes forget that we are in the people business! #ksedchat
#ksedchat A3: I have to remember it's on me to help make their day a little better. It's something I'll have to keep in mind this year. I've even thought about building in some "break days" where we do things like on Day 1. Allows for refocus.
My husband is the head football coach in YC, so there were lots of things I could relate to! Ha ha. While I don't agree with everything I think it really shows the pressure and things coaches are dealing with daily. #ksedchat
A3: I think an important piece of keeping excitement from the first day going includes setting boundaries for ourselves as teachers. Taking time to be with family and not letting my job control my life are vital to me staying pumped up and excited to begin each new day. #ksedchat
A3 Make sure to take care of yourself and spend time with your family/friends. Stay away from the negative. Remember you are the difference for the Ss you serve. #ksedchat
A3) Student-centered lessons. I'd really like to try a #thinkingclassroom design. I also want to have them self-assess, and build maps of their learning history so they can chart their own growth. We'll see! #ksedchat
A3 I think by recharging throughout the year. If I get in a rut or start feeling overwhelmed, I’m not my best self for my Ss. Can’t expect them to be excited if I’m not! #ksedchat
A3: I also think it's important to stay connected to your #PLN throughout the year. Teaching is exhausting, but keeping up with your peeps can keep you refreshed! #ksedchat
A3 I think part of keeping the excitement of day one going lies in being committed to the work and building authentic relationships with students and your colleagues #ksedchat
#ksedchat A3: What worked for me during student teaching was that I had built relationships with the students VERY early on in the year. By the EOY, the kids were still excited to learn because i made sure to keep those connections.
^^^Biggest take away from student teaching.
A3: I also think it's important to stay connected to your #PLN throughout the year. Teaching is exhausting, but keeping up with your peeps can keep you refreshed! #ksedchat
A3: When the classroom is student-centered, students have buy-in and are more excited throughout the year. Always doing labs, activities, answering the questions they have about chemistry. #ksedchat
A2 We're starting a new tradition in our community system (play together/pray together) by adding the 8th and final community; we've got a new slate of student leaders who will take us to the next level! #ksedchat
A3 I see several people talking about self care and it's so true! To be cliche, you can't pour from an empty cup. Running yourself ragged and rolling in tired and stressed spills into everything. Easy to say, hard to do, but recharging the batteries is vital. #ksedchat
Completely agree! Was sad to see the outcome of one of the kids though but so happy for the ones that got offers elsewhere to build upon their careers in football. #ksedchat
Yes! I was able to be in a session led by @PovertyEdge at #podstock18 - she was incredible and I’m still processing the conversations three weeks later. #ksedchat
In reply to
@chorn68, @Rantime, @PovertyEdge, @PovertyEdge
A4: supporting staff and students and continuing to improve trauma informed practices. #ksedchat can help by checking in and holding me accountable. Also collaboration would be great too!
A4- I’m entering my first year in administration, so my goal this year is to constantly create opportunities to connect with kids. That was by far my favorite aspect of teaching, and I refuse to change that focus! #ksedchat
A4: Consistency with morning meeting. Last year I started off strong, but with some changes in our schedule we couldn't get it in. This year I have made adjustments to allow for it. #ksedchat Let's keep the convo. going with the importance of social emotional skills.
I always set 2-3 focus areas/ goals. This year: better collaboration with my grade level content partner, more PBL, better growth measures during the year. We don't have a district provided curriculum or coaches or anything so the last part is going to take some work! #ksedchat
A4: My biggest push is to boost the growth of students emotional support using #TraumaInformed instruction. The #ksedchat#PLN can help by being a sounding board as I challenge and try out new methods. Let’s face it no teacher knows it all!
#ksedchat A4:
To provide a productive learning environment for my Ss.
Also, to not just survive, but to thrive. I keep hearing how the first year is fast and furious... I want to enjoy the process of becoming the best teacher for my students, and to grow right next to them.
A4: I hope to be a lead learner. Struggle along side them and share triumphs together! This is my first step! Twitter chat rookie here! Trying to be vulnerable. #ksedchat
A4: Really hoping to find authentic civic engagement projects for my students. Would like to generate a sincere interst for students to be part of the extended community. #ksedchat
A4) Just one?! Again, #thinkingclassroom, student self-assessments with standards based grading, student self-tracking of performance, cross-curricular PBL (hopefully!). #ksedchat
Q4-Chronicle our Math Buds and Math Trails journey this year and present at the @KATMWebmaster conference next year. Although the thought of it is terrifying. #ksedchat
So crazy! We have been all over due to coaching, it's not the easiest job but you definitely make an impact on kids in a different way than the classroom. Coaches wives have to stick together! In a few weeks life changes for us all! #ksedchat
A4 to keep striving for excellence in everything I do in my vocation as a Catholic School principal. Keep learning and growing so I can help my Ss and Ts strive to also be the best they can be. You can help me keep growing in knowledge. #ksedchat
A4: I want to dive into Ss data and have informed Ss centered convos w/my Ts. I want to get some more buy in with #PBL and other tech tools to increase engagement! SO many! #ksedchat
#ksedchat A4: Try to take more of a leadership role and focus on the kids and my job of being there for the kids. On a related note, incorporate some PBL with our MS science teacher.
A4. To create the framework & pilot an internship program at the HS level & a streamlined career readiness for our MS with beginning hands on/real world activities to explore career & self exploration. Tips & networking will help me a ton! I tell Ss it’s who you know! #ksedchat
A4: My professional goal for 2018-2019 is to work smarter, not harder. I want to cut the 💩 that my students and I don’t need, and really focus on our relevance and application! Ex: Take longer to solve one important problem, instead of doing multi choice worksheets. #ksedchat
A4 One goal I have for this year is action. Learning is an action, teaching is an action. I want to be less passive and drive teaching and learning through doing. #ksedchat
A4: I plan to have my kids connect with classes outside of our community using @Flipgrid#FlipPals! ... Encouraging words are always lovely!
Janelle from Olathe. Late to the chat. 😬⏰😊
A4: My professional goals for this year:
•Code more
•Tour a redesign school
•Look into flexible seating (would love to see a 1st/2nd grade classroom that utilizes this well) #ksedchat
Absolutely. Thank you! I have learned that having a community of educators, and the resources like #ksedchat and #ksedcamp are valuable to collaborate and to keep learning fresh for Ss and Ts!
Want to get great ideas for your classes? Find new ways to use Seesaw’s creative tools? Check out our newly expanded Activity Library! Join us as we show you how to use, create, & share Activities in Seesaw! https://t.co/0wQZIdZmUc#seesawchat#ksedchat#HSGEdchatTN
I keep looking at everyone's goals and saying "oh yeah, that too!" I think I may need to make a list of goals and do some narrowing down. We all know when we have too many goals none of them get done well. 🤔 #ksedchat
#ksedchat We keep the excitement going on students by staying excited ourselves. One way I do this is tell myself positive things and talk about amazing class! The more I talk about how amazing my students are, the more amazing they become.
A4: My professional goal is to stay balanced. In October I'll be welcoming a new baby and I am really worried how that will effect what I do. It also doesn't help that it's in the middle of football season- LOL #ksedchat
Oh that would be so exciting! Typically for me it's the opposite, I have them first and then he gets them. It's still really cool to pass them on. #ksedchat
A4: I'm working towards standards based grading, implementing 20% time, and hopefully being more consistent in posting student awesomeness on Instagram (apparently it's where the cool kids hang out, they looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned Twitter). #ksedchat
That’s what I’m doing this year too! It holds me accountable as well and forces me to actually read something besides student work. 😅 I have a small markerboard in my window that says, “Ms. Casey is currently reading...” and I hope that sparks convo with my Ss! #ksedchat
Let me know if you would like to collab on Digital Portfolios! :) I would love to get some MS input for instruction/structure! #ksedchat
Here's my resource too https://t.co/kQtOFD3mp5
Thank you so much for joining #ksedchat tonight!
Checkout the schedule for the rest of the month!
@AmandaBuethe will be leading a Technology Slam next week!
Bring your list of great apps and websites with you!
A5: Once my room gets all put together I will be ready but right now it's in shambles. I've been trying to iron out all things cheerleading before the season starts to hopefully have a smooth start everywhere else :) #ksedchat
